The home care industry has seen a significant transformation in recent years, driven by advancements in medical technology, an aging population, and the desire for individuals to receive care in the comfort of their own homes. Running a successful home care agency requires high-quality client care, strong leadership, tight, well-defined policies, and a dedicated support staff. The agencies have to harness, among other things, operational efficiency, staff motivation, and strategic foresight as they grapple with the demands of this evolving industry to stand tall in an ever-growing, diverse community.
We contacted Maranda Harris, Director of Operations at Azalea Homecare Inc., to better understand some of the core aspects of running a successful home care agency in such challenging situations and how to manage issues such as staff retention. With rich experience in the healthcare industry, Maranda shared knowledge on leadership techniques, changes in context with home care, and how to keep a committed and motivated caregiving team.
A firm foundation set of policies and procedures that address vital operations in a proactive manner. This includes a staff that has communication, personal, and organizational values, as well as vision and foresight.
We provide activities and resources that allow Azalea nurses to positively release work-related stress. We encourage their families to engage as well. We encourage our nurses to take mental health seriously and to communicate with us for time off to take care of themselves and their families. I tell many of our nurses you are somebody’s wife/husband, sister/brother, mother/father before coming to our nurse, so you must be taking care of yourself first!!
– Maranda Harris
Home care demands increase simply because as new technology, especially with medical advances, so does the opportunity to have procedures that were once only done in hospitals or clinics to be done in individual comfort zones, their home. Also, as we become more diverse as communities, specific cultures live in multi-generational families. Thus, the demand for home care increases, especially for providers that share the same/ similar beliefs as those of multi-generational families.
Listen to know the needs of your nurses. I check in once a month, only on my nurses, not the client but them, and they appreciate that simple check-in. That check-in provides me with insight and feedback on what we, as an agency, can do to help out our nurses! The best leaders learn to listen before becoming leaders.
As Maranda H. points out, “Caregivers’ well-being is at the bedrock of a home care agency’s success.” This supports creating an atmosphere where the caregiver’s voice is heard, listened to, and empowered to make some decisions regarding mental health. This contributes significantly to one of the biggest challenges facing this industry: staff retention. They would not feel at a loss or lose motivation about their commitments by regularly getting checks in on them, offering them stress-relieving avenues, and acknowledging work-life balance as important.
As she puts it, “The best leaders learn to listen before becoming leaders.” Home care agencies can improve retention by providing higher-quality care to their clients by listening to the caregiver and ensuring professional and personal support, thus leaving a lasting impression in their communities.
Maranda Harris is the Director of Operations at Azalea Homecare Inc., where she ensures clients are informed about their caregivers and that care plans are in place. She manages scheduling, billing, payroll, and the referral process and is on call during evenings and weekends. Maranda handles hiring, training, and terminations while also conducting client and employee follow-ups, audits, and assessments. Additionally, she oversees recruitment for CNAs, LPNs, and RNs, verifies insurance, and maintains timely documentation for smooth operations.
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